Newsletter: California Inc.: Looking for a tech job? L.A. is the place to be
Welcome to California Inc., the weekly newsletter of the L.A. Times Business Section.
I’m Business columnist David Lazarus, and here’s a rundown of upcoming stories this week and the highlights of last week.
California ended the year adding just 3,700 jobs in December, according to a jobs report released Friday, but that modest gain inched the unemployment rate down to 5.2%, what one economist called a reflection of a state “firing on all cylinders.” That news was overshadowed by the inauguration of President Donald Trump, whose first speech as commander in chief helped the market snap a five-day losing streak. Still, Wall Street was holding its collective breath over what would come next.
LOOKING AHEAD
Oscar time: Nominations for the 89th Academy Awards will be announced Tuesday, kicking of a month of campaigning by the studios. Lionsgate’s “La La Land” and A24’s “Moonlight” are expected to collect nominations in multiple categories. In a departure from recent practice, the announcements will not be done before a live in-person audience. Instead, they will be live-streamed on Oscars.org and shown on “Good Morning America” starting at 5:18 a.m.
California outlook: Gov. Jerry Brown will deliver his annual “State of the State” address Tuesday before a joint session of the California Legislature. Brown’s recently unveiled state budget calls for spending $179.5 billion in the coming fiscal year, while offering ways to avoid what he believes would be California’s first deficit in more than three years. The governor’s budget projection forecasts a $1.6-billion deficit due, in part, to slower than expected growth in wages.
Profits and losses: A batch of earnings reports from high-profile companies are being released this week. Samsung posts its numbers on Tuesday, AT&T on Wednesday, and Comcast and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) on Thursday. Of the group, Samsung’s event could be the most intriguing. Last week, a South Korean court blocked an attempt by prosecutors to have Samsung’s de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, arrested as part of a bribery investigation that has shaken that country.
Find a job: The City of Los Angeles will host a free technology job fair Thursday featuring recruiters from more than 200 companies. TechFair LA will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Reef, a downtown exhibition space. Among the employers expected to be there are Snap, YouTube, Uber, Spokeo and Tinder. The event will feature a discussion with Chris DeWolfe, the Myspace co-founder who now runs Jam City, a Los Angeles-based social gaming network.
Hockey fest: In advance of Sunday’s National Hockey League All-Star Game at Staples Center, the Los Angeles Convention Center will host a three-day “Fan Fair” Thursday through Saturday. The fair will include interactive games, trophy and memorabilia displays, autograph opportunities with current and former NHL players, and street hockey clinics. This is only the third time the All-Star Game has been held in Los Angeles.
THE AGENDA
Monday marks the first full business day of the Trump administration, and many companies are hoping for the most significant rollback of regulations since the Reagan administration. Cutting regulations is a key component in Trump’s goal of doubling economic growth to 4%. But undoing or revising regulations won’t be easy. Some, like Obamacare, will require congressional action. Others have entrenched support from the very agencies that wrote the rules. “In some ways, getting rid of them is harder,” said Susan Dudley, who headed the regulatory review process for President George W. Bush.
STORY LINES
Here are some of the other stories that ran in the Times Business section in recent days that we’re continuing to follow:
A different bank: In 2009, Steven Mnuchin, President Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, and a handful of other wealthy investors bought the assets of IndyMac, a failed Pasadena savings and loan, and renamed it OneWest Bank. By the time they sold the institution six years later, it was unrecognizable, a wholly different kind of bank from the insolvent mortgage lender Mnuchin started out with — and a different kind of bank than many of its competitors.
Toy story: Mattel tapped a Google executive as its new CEO, a sign that the company is going all in on technology as the future of its toys. Margaret Georgiadis is taking over the helm of the El Segundo company Feb. 8. Toy makers are grappling with how to keep the attention of tech-savvy kids whose phones and tablet computers are loaded with games.
Film deal: Paramount Pictures, the Viacom Corp.-owned studio that has struggled at the box office, is getting a financial boost from two Chinese media companies. Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media have agreed to co-finance the studio’s slate of films over the next three years. Financial terms were not disclosed but the partnership reportedly will be worth as much as $1 billion in financing to the studio.
Qualcomm lawsuits: The Federal Trade Commission has sued Qualcomm over the way that it licenses cellular patents to smartphone makers — joining South Korea and potentially other governments in seeking to upend the San Diego’s company’s patent royalty practices. The company faces probes in Europe, Japan and Taiwan. Apple Inc. followed with its own $1 billion lawsuit against Qualcomm, accusing it of extorting royalties for iPhone innovations that have nothing to do with Qualcomm’s technology. In response, the chip maker said Apple’s allegations were “baseless.”
Candy room? Los Angeles is now home to the most expensive house for sale in the country: a $250-million mega-mansion. Just how lavish is the Bel-Air property? It’s got four levels, 38,000 square feet of interiors, 12 bedrooms, 21 bathrooms, three kitchens, an infinity pool with a swim-up bar, a bowling alley, a candy room and a movie theater. It also comes with a $30-million car collection, 130 art installations, custom luxury furnishings and a decommissioned helicopter parked on the roof.
WHAT WE’RE READING
And some recent stories from other publications that caught our eye:
Falling behind: The Orange County Register reports that the area’s future prosperity depends on its ability to attract well-paying jobs, but its efforts are woefully inadequate when compared with those of other regions. That was the message from two Chapman University researchers as they laid out grim statistics on the county’s rising poverty, high housing costs and falling employment in technology, manufacturing and finance.
Supersize me: Hard to believe, but Bloomberg says the market for fast-food workers is so hot, headhunters are out recruiting. “The rank-and-file is winning referral bonuses, free meals and days off, and the scarcity of candidates may be raising the minimum wage without help from lawmakers.”
Science! Wired observes that the dominance of coders in Silicon Valley is ending. Physicists are taking over. “Because structurally and technologically, the things that just about every Internet company needs to do are more and more suited to the skill set of a physicist.”
Not so great: From Rolling Stone, some thoughts on how Republicans doing away with Obamacare will make America great again. “There’s no definition of ‘great’ that includes millions more people getting sick and dying. Yet, by all measures, everything they’re proposing related to health will lead to just that.”
Robot uprising: Recode says residents and businesses in Redwood City, Calif. and Washington, D.C. can now get food delivered right to their doors — via robot. The six-wheeled robots are a little under two feet tall, weigh about 40 pounds empty and travel at walking speed. The idea is that they’ll share sidewalk space with pedestrians as they go about their business.
SPARE CHANGE
That robo-delivery story highlights the growing use of robots in society. And that makes me think of “Westworld” — the original movie, not the HBO show. In this clip, look over the shoulder of the first tourist as he talks about playing cowboys and Indians as a kid. That out-of-focus fellow in the background is the producer of the film, Paul N. Lazarus III, in a brief cameo. And he just may be my dad.
For the latest money news, go to www.latimes.com/business. Until next time, I’ll see you in the Business section.
David Lazarus’ column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.
